Simona Halep doping ban: Former Serena Williams coach takes ‘responsibility’
Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou has admitted he is “responsible” for Simona Halep’s doping ban.
Halep hired Mouratoglou at the beginning of the 2022 season after enjoying great success with Serena Williams, winning the Canadian Open that year under her guidance.
However, the former Wimbledon champion’s career is currently in ruins, with the International Tennis Integrity Agency banning her for four years in September.
The ban comes after the Romanian player tested positive for roxadustat at last year’s U.S. Open, although she continued to profess her innocence – and according to Mouratoglou, she had full immunity reason.
“I am confident in Simona’s future as she appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport because it is an independent tribunal,” Mouratoglou said. “We have been able to identify the source of the contamination.”
“We advised her to take collagen and brought her collagen from a company. This collagen happened to be contaminated.
“There’s no way of knowing, but I take responsibility for what happened because it was my team. So I basically was me, bringing her collagen.
“We have done every possible test to establish that we are talking about contamination. I am very confident that this independent tribunal will accept the fact that she was never doped.
“She is a victim and she must be back on the court as soon as possible and able to play.”
Simona Halep’s drug ban was essentially a career-ending decision.
By the time his ban expires in 2026, the former world No. 1 will be 35 years old. At this age, it is almost impossible to return to his previous level after being away from the competition for such a long time.
She has maintained her innocence and told Front Office Sports after the ban came into effect that she found the ruling “a complete shock and disaster”.
“I was completely shocked when I received the decision,” she said. “When we discovered the contamination and my blood was completely normal, I couldn’t believe they suspended me for four years.
“They didn’t find anything bad in my blood. It’s crazy that they went to any lengths to make this decision (her legal team said). They judged me based on scenarios. There was no evidence. It’s crazy.
“Mentally it was a disaster for me because I didn’t expect something like this to happen. I’ve always been careful with what I put in my body and never took anything without checking. So , it was a shock.”
Read next: Daniil Medvedev offers lame excuse for ugly finger incident in Paris
Publishers Mindscape Developers P.F. Magic Release date 1998 Genre Simulation Game rating Description of the…
Editors Activision, Inc. Developers superego games Release date 2006 Gender Adventure Game Rating Game Description…
Editors Terraglyph Interactive Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Developers Terraglifo interactive studios Release date nineteen…
Editors Sega, Digital Images, Screaming Villains, Limited Run Games Developers Digital Images, Inc. Release date…
Editors Davilex Games BV Developers Davilex Games BV Release date 1998 Gender Careers Game Rating…
Editors Sony Computer Entertainment, Disney Interactive Studios Developers High voltage software Release date 2002 Gender…